The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has, for the first time, addressed the all-too-common practice of sterilizing women without their informed consent. In its judgment concerning I.V. v. Bolivia, released on December 22, 2016, the court determined that forced sterilization generally violates a core set of human rights, including the right to dignity, and may also constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and violate the right to judicial protection (as it found to be the case here). Its decision was a positive conclusion to I.V.’s 16-year fight for justice and puts in motion significant advances toward providing her with some measure of reparation and ensuring that Bolivia’s health care system recognizes and respects the human rights of women, including their right to exercise full, free, prior, and informed consent to any medical procedure. The International Human Rights Clinic at Santa Clara University and the International Justice Resource Center intervened before the Inter-American Court as amici curiae in the case with the support of 22 law professors, experts, and organizations (other amicus curiae briefs submitted in the case are also available online). We write here to outline the analysis presented in our brief and share the court’s conclusions, particularly because the judgment is only available in Spanish.

In our capacity as amici, we argued that the court should adopt a rights-based definition of forced sterilization and treat it as an autonomous complex human rights violation that affects the rights to dignity, private and family life, personal integrity and humane treatment, freedom of expression, protection of the family, and to be free from discrimination and from acts of violence against women. We argued that a framework that recognizes the indivisibility and interrelatedness of the human rights violations associated with forced sterilization better reflects its complex nature and will assist other bodies tasked with analyzing cases of forced sterilization as a human rights violation. This approach would be in line with the court’s conceptualization of other complex human rights violations that are not specifically mentioned in the American Convention on Human Rights. Such was the case of enforced disappearances, where the court’s characterization as an autonomous and complex violation was instrumental for the development of a more appropriate normative framework.

Every day local and national cases of sexual violence, harassment and assault make headlines. News coverage plays a critical role in shaping perceptions of the causes and solutions to sexual violence. We need your help to spread the word about a new contest for journalists promoting coverage of sexual violence with context and credibility.

Raliance, in partnership with The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, has launched The RALLYs awards to honor the highest level of journalistic achievement in covering sexual violence. Help us to spread the word to local, national and independent journalists whose work is enhancing public understanding of sexual violence.

Responsible reporting uses statistics, stories and background to show how sexual violence impacts individuals, families and communities. It highlights the spectrum of sexual violence and range of people affected. Most importantly, it conveys the scope of the problem while also identifying solutions and challenging the notion that these acts are inevitable.

There will be four award categories highlighting everyday journalism, digital innovation, investigative series and feature stories. Four $500 cash prizes will be awarded to the top winners in each category.

In a decision that can be interpreted a historic milestone and a ‘triple high-five’ for the promotion of accountability for women’s human rights in Africa; for the recognition of violence against women as a violation of human rights, and for the emerging role of African regional courts in addressing human rights issues, on the 24th of January, 2017, the ECOWAS Court (the ECCJ or the Court) ruled that it has the competence to hear a case of domestic violence instituted against the Federal Government of Nigeria by two NGOs. I review that decision in this post.

The NGOs – the Women Advocates Research Documentation Centre (WARDC) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) – had jointly filed a suit in August 2015 at the Court on behalf of Nigerian citizen, Ms. Mary Sunday, an alleged victim of severe domestic violence from her fiancé (a policeman), which had taken place three years earlier in August 2012.

WARDA and IHRDA alleged that since the attack happened, the Nigerian authorities had failed to carry out an independent and impartial investigation on the allegations of severe domestic violence suffered by Ms. Sunday. As a result of the lack of effective investigation and prosecution of the offender, they argued that the Nigerian government had violated several rights of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights; the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, and other international human rights agreements. These rights included the right to dignity, to freedom from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, and the right to a remedy.

The case was filed before the Court for human rights violations pursuant to Article 3 of the Supplementary Protocol of the Court. This provision gives the Court the competence to determine matters of human rights violations of citizens of the ECOWAS Community. The Nigerian government lodged a preliminary objection based on three grounds; that the Applicants had not established a cause of action; that the Applicants had no locus standi, and that the Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case. The Court was urged to dismiss and strike out the case for lack of merit.

In delivering the Court’s ruling, the Honourable Justice Micah Wilkins Wright, held that the case was admissible; that the Applicants had established a cause of action and also have locus standi to file the case.

Though this decision relates only to jurisdiction and admissibility by the ECOWAS Court, it is certainly noteworthy for the clear signal communicated by the Court to continue to hear cases relating to women’s human rights.

Uber has suffered a spate of bad publicity in recent days after allegations of harassment and discrimination from a former software engineer.

In a blog post, Susan Fowler described being propositioned by her supervisor within weeks of starting her job. She complained to the human resources (HR) team. According to Fowler, the supervisor received a “warning and a stern talking-to” but no other discipline at the time because he was a strong performer and it was his “first offense.” Uber then offered her a choice: Transfer to another team or stay and risk a retaliatory performance review from the harasser.

Fowler also described a larger pattern of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Others reported being harassed by the same manager, apparently contradicting what HR told her. Fowler’s performance review was downgraded, making her ineligible for a subsidized graduate program. When Fowler asked a director about “dwindling” representation of women in the division, he attributed it to their failure to step up and be better engineers. When Uber ordered leather jackets for engineers, they were ordered only for men. Apparently, there weren’t enough women to qualify for a bulk discount.

After Fowler’s post went viral, Uber sought to distance itself from the incident and hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate. CEO Travis Kalanick issued a response:

“What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.”

Fowler’s story – which Uber neither confirmed nor denied – is not unique in the tech sector, where women remain underrepresented. Women make up only 12 percent of engineers. These women face substantial headwinds. In a survey of women in the tech sector, 84 percent reported being told they were “too aggressive” and 59 percent said they were offered fewer opportunities than male counterparts. The majority also reported receiving unwanted sexual advances. And of those that reported the harassment, 60 percent were unhappy with the company’s response.

On a Japanese island famous for long life expectancies, elderly women are at the forefront of the continuing protest movement against U.S military installations.

OKINAWA, Japan – For an entire year, 60-year-old Kumiko Onaga slept in a tent across the street from a U.S. military base on Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost island. In the middle of the night, when trucks carrying construction material approached at the entrance gate of the base, she jumped out of her sleeping bag and tried to block the vehicles. Then, each morning, she drove home, showered and went to work as one of her town’s few women city council members.

“People know me as ‘the sleeping bag councilwoman,’” Onaga says with a smile, adding that more people know her by her nickname than her real name.

Onaga and others on Okinawa have long opposed the relocation of the contentious Futenma Marine Corps base to the remote fishing village of Henoko on the northern part of the island. Part of the plan involves the construction of military runways in the coral-filled coastal waters next to the base.

“We were forced to accept these bases,” says Kyoko Matayoshi, 66, who lives just over a mile from the Futenma base. She and many local residents say their biggest concerns are noise, pollution and safety.

This study replicated and extended research findings on subtypes of child maltreatment, childhood exposure to domestic violence, subsequent forms of victimization, and stress in relation to antisocial behavior, crime, and perpetration/victimization related to intimate partner violence in adulthood; also examined were protective factors for maltreated children and predictors of self-reported crime desistence.

Abstract:

Findings of seven publications that were the products of this secondary data analysis provide additional evidence of the relationship between child maltreatment and adult antisocial behavior and crime. They also show instances in which this relationship is influenced by other variables, including those that pertain to the socialization of peers and partners.

Findings suggest the possibility that physical, emotional, and sexual abuse are linked differently to self-reported crime and that predictors and pathways differ at times on the basis of gender. In addition, several analyses show the risk-lowering effects of education variables (e.g., educational engagement, academic achievement, and high school graduation), suggesting the importance of incorporating perspectives on schooling and education in crime prevention and criminal justice policy. Data for this study are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, which is an ongoing prospective examination of children and families that began in the 1970s. The original samples consisted of 457 children. Just over 80 percent of the children, now adults, were assessed in 2008-2010 at an average of 36 years. Data on child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors were collected much earlier, beginning when participants were preschoolers (18 months to 6 years old). 21 references

International Human Rights Group Applauds Ireland for Law Targeting Buyers of Sex
Survivors of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Lead Groundbreaking Campaign

New York, Feb. 15, 2017 - The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) commends the Republic of Ireland for the historic passage of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill, which decriminalizes prostituted people and penalizes the purchase of sex. After years of intense efforts, the bill passed Ireland's lower house, Dáil Éireann, on Feb. 7 and was approved in the upper house, Seanad Éireann, on Feb. 14.

The new Irish law will help efforts to end demand by holding sex buyers accountable and will also ensure that prostituted individuals and survivors can access comprehensive support services. In addition, it strengthens national laws against sexual grooming, child pornography and sexual harassment in the Republic of Ireland.

Rachel Moran, founder and executive director of SPACE International (Survivors of Prostitution-Abuse Calling for Enlightenment), was a key Irish abolitionist activist who advocated for the law as part of the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, a coalition of direct service providers, survivor-led groups, women's rights organizations, labor unions, medical providers and other groups in Ireland.

"It's been six years almost to the day since I first spoke publicly in Dublin about the harm and damage of prostitution and the need for our government to do something about it," said Moran, also the author of "Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution." "With great relief, our government has formally responded to the Turn Off the Red Light campaign and voted overwhelmingly to criminalize the demand for paid sexual access to human beings. Ireland is now a hostile territory for pimps and traffickers, and a place where men can no longer legally use women's desperation to buy their way inside our bodies. This is a historic day that sends a message of hope."

The Republic of Ireland follows the example of Sweden, the first country to legally recognize prostitution as a form of violence and discrimination against women in 1999. Norway, Iceland, Canada (with exceptions), Northern Ireland and, most recently, France have also enacted demand-focused, abolitionist laws to combat the multi-billion dollar sex trade and its economic engine, sex trafficking. This legal framework is known as the Swedish or Nordic model.

In enacting the new law, the Irish government upholds its international obligations under the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol). Respectively, these international conventions call on state parties to enact national legislation and policies that address the exploitation of prostitution of others and the demand that fosters the sex trade and sex trafficking, among other human rights violations.

"Passage of the Irish law is a testament to the survivors of prostitution and sex trafficking who tell us with immense courage about the unspeakable horrors they've endured at the hands of sex buyers, traffickers and pimps," said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of CATW. "This victory belongs to them. Millions, mostly women and girls, continue to be exploited in the sex trade worldwide with unacceptable impunity, but today we applaud Ireland for honoring the tireless campaigners and for showcasing its vision of human rights and equality for all."

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations working to end human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of women and girls worldwide. CATW engages in advocacy, education and prevention programs, and services for victims of trafficking and CSE in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Esperanza and Teodula were sterilised without consent more than 18 years ago and are still searching for justice in rural Peru. The Quipu project is their phoneline that allows victims across the country to share their shocking testimonies. These are the unwillingly sterilised women fighting for justice in Peru.

They are just two of the 300,000 Peruvians affected by the Family Planning Program promoted by Alberto Fujimori’s government in the mid-90s in Peru, which mostly targeted impoverished, rural, indigenous people. Despite several attempts to bring those responsible to justice, the crime of the forced sterilisations remains unpunished and there are still many Peruvians that denied it ever happened.

Esperanza and Teodula, together with other affected women, activists and artists, continue the fight for justice through the Quipu project. Esperanza and her local women's organisation have decided to fight for justice and create a communication project -a specially developed phoneline connected to the internet- that allows them to share their stories in their own words and be heard around the country and the world. The testimonies collected by the Quipu project have been listened to in more than 100 countries and help them to appeal to international law in their continuing search for justice.

Meanwhile, in October 2015, Keiko Fujimori (daughter of Alberto Fujimori) held a clear lead in the upcoming presidential elections despite having been investigated for corruption several times.

Esperanza and the Quipu team travel across Peru to the regions that were most affected by the sterilisation campaign - isolated, rural and impoverished villages in the Andes and Amazon. As they meet more people and hear their stories, the real scale of the campaign starts to be revealed.

This short film follows the intimate journeys of these two peasant women fighting for recognition and women’s rights in a male-dominated society, while inviting others to join them in the hope that their voices will no longer be silenced.

An undocumented immigrant was detained last week in El Paso, Texas, after she received a protective order due to being an alleged victim of domestic violence — and she’s one of a number of the most vulnerable people who are being rounded up as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown.

The not-yet-named El Paso woman, who was taken on Feb. 9, may have been tipped off by the her alleged abuser, who was already in custody, according to The El Paso Times. The Times cited a criminal complaint on file with the U.S. District Court in El Paso for a person with her name, suggesting she may have immigration and domestic violence issues in her own past. Nevertheless, El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal said she was worried that using protective orders to identify and deport people could scare domestic abuse victims away from coming forward.

“Our clients come to us at the lowest point in their lives,” Bernal told The El Paso Times. “Many of them are so frightened of coming to us because of possible immigration concerns.”

We preach against child-marriage abroad. But thousands of American children are wed annually.

Michelle DeMello walked into the clerk’s office in Colorado thinking for sure someone would save her.

She was 16 and pregnant. Her Christian community in Green Mountain Falls was pressuring her family to marry her off to her 19-year-old boyfriend. She didn’t think she had the right to say no to the marriage after the mess she felt she’d made. “I could be the example of the shining whore in town, or I could be what everybody wanted me to be at that moment and save my family a lot of honor,” DeMello said. She assumed that the clerk would refuse to approve the marriage. The law wouldn’t allow a minor to marry, right?

Wrong, as DeMello, now 42, learned.

While most states set 18 as the minimum marriage age, exceptions in every state allow children younger than 18 to marry, typically with parental consent or judicial approval. How much younger? Laws in 27 states do not specify an age below which a child cannot marry.

Unchained At Last, a nonprofit I founded to help women resist or escape forced marriage in the United States, spent the past year collecting marriage license data from 2000 to 2010, the most recent year for which most states were able to provide information. We learned that in 38 states, more than 167,000 children — almost all of them girls, some as young 12 — were married during that period, mostly to men 18 or older. Twelve states and the District of Columbia were unable to provide information on how many children had married there in that decade. Based on the correlation we identified between state population and child marriage, we estimated that the total number of children wed in America between 2000 and 2010 was nearly 248,000.

Report by current and former police and prosecutors says Trump’s executive order threatens to ‘repeat the mistake’ of policies relying only on jail and prison

David Brown, the former Dallas police chief widely praised for his response to the killing of five officers last year, is a co-writer of the report. Photograph: Tony Gutierrez/AP

Dozens of senior law enforcement officials have urged Donald Trump to abandon his draconian crackdown on crime and to instead revive efforts to reform the criminal justice system.

In a report co-written by David Brown, the former Dallas police chief widely praised for his response to the killing of five officers last year, the officials said Trump should rethink his blunt law-and-order plans.

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea is an emotionally charged, eye-opening true story that represents the millions of unheard voices of refugees who risk everything in a desperate search for the promise of a safe future. Melissa Fleming sheds light on the most pressing humanitarian crisis of our time and paints a vivid, unforgettable portrait of the triumph of the human spirit.

Review

"Melissa Fleming's tale of a young Syrian woman's search for peace and safety is a book written for our times. On every page, loss and hope tangle. On every page, the human toll of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time is painfully, heartbreakingly brought home. This is an emotional read, at times painful, but it is above all a poignant tribute to hope, to resilience, and to the capacity for grace and generosity that dwells deep in the human heart." ―Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and And the Mountains Echoed

"I think Melissa Fleming is one of the most important people in the world. As the world's foremost advocate for refugees, she has worked tirelessly to put a human face on the greatest crisis of our time. There is no more important calling than this. Millions have been displaced by the wars in Iraq and Syria, and their situation is desperate. Yet everyone who has worked with refugees is amazed by their resilience and spirit. There is no better way to demonstrate this spirit than with the power of a single story. Melissa has found that story. The story of Doaa is dramatic, riveting, and ultimately hopeful. A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea provides a portrait of the refugee crisis that cannot be matched by any amount of cable news coverage." ―Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York

"This poignant tale of survival and loss gives immediacy to the plight of Syrian refugees. Fleming’s skillful writing brings new vividness to Doaa Al Zamel’s dramatic story. This book amply demonstrates why Al Zamel has since become a symbol of hope for other refugees. Fleming should be congratulated for bringing [this] inspiring and illuminating story to the page." ―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

MELISSA FLEMING is chief spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She travels to war zones and refugee camps to give voice to the millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes. She is frequently quoted in international media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and NPR. She first told Doaa's story on the TED stage and her talks are featured on TED.com.

The ‘lean-in’ variety of feminism won’t defeat this administration, but a mobilization of the 99% will. On 8 March we will take to the streets

A former school teacher from South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has served as the Head of UN Women since 2013. Prior to that, she was deputy president to Thabo Mbeki and the most senior female politician in South African history. Under the apartheid regime, Mlambo-Ngcuka led a gender-equality organization. This interview took place in Istanbul, Turkey during the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit.

As always, if you can't make the EVAWI conference the conference agenda, with its talk by talk outlines, is a great way to catch up on all the latest thinking and directions in ending violence against women.

Women human rights defenders continue to be at the forefront of so many human rights struggles across the world. In increasingly authoritarian contexts, their very work to confront oppressive, discriminatory structures and address human rights violations subjects them to increasing threats, attacks and violence.

Three years ago States at the UN General Assembly agreed by consensus that the protection of women human rights defenders is of paramount concern. With the involvement of defenders themselves, the landmark resolution - 68/181 - effectively developed a roadmap that outlines practical steps that governments can undertake to ensure that the rights of women human rights defender in their countries are respected and protected. This resolution presents a tool for women human rights defenders to claim their rights and their protection needs.

With the support of the City of Geneva, ISHR is pleased to bring resolution 68/181 out from the vaults through its new publication, Recognising and protecting women human rights defenders: A Rough Guide to UN General Assembly Resolution 68/181.

Women human rights defenders face all of the same risks as human rights defenders generally, and can become targets of State agents and non-State actors. But further, women human rights defenders often face gender-specific threats and violence, such as rape, sexual violence, stigmatisation and discrimination, causing both physical and psychological harm.

We hope this rough guide assists women human rights defenders around the world pursue tangible policy reform in their countries.

WASHINGTON― A new law in Arkansas bans most second trimester abortions and allows a woman’s husband to sue the doctor for civil damages or “injunctive relief,” which would block the woman from having the procedure.

The “Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act,” signed into law last week by Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), bans dilation and evacuation procedures, in which the physician removes the fetus from the womb with surgical tools. D&E procedures are the safest and most common way women can end their pregnancies after 14 weeks of gestation, according to the American Medical Association.

A clause buried in the legislation states that the husband of a woman seeking an abortion, if he is the baby’s father, can file a civil lawsuit against the physician for monetary damages or injunctive relief ― a court order that would prevent the doctor from going ahead with the procedure. The woman’s parents or legal guardians can also sue, if she is a minor. The law states that the husband cannot sue the doctor for money in cases of “criminal conduct” against his wife ― namely, spousal rape ― but he could still sue to block her from having the abortion.

State Rep. Andy Mayberry (R), who co-sponsored the bill, told The Daily Beast, “We’ve tried to account for all the worst case scenarios.”

“They created a whole new right ― the right of a husband or family member to sue a doctor on behalf of an adult patient,” said Holly Dickson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. “I cannot begin to tell you what the intent was, but we have raised concerns about that provision and the entire rest of the bill, which is unconstitutional.”

Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate Isabella Lövin posted a striking photo on her Facebook account on Friday.

The image shows Lövin signing a law that will require the government to be tougher on fossil fuel usage, with the ultimate goal of phasing out fossil fuels by 2045. And in the photo, Lövin is surrounded by seven other women.

In countries or states with adequate violence against women (VAW) legislation, we are convinced and we have demonstrated in thousands of cases that battered women’s shelters are mostly unnecessary. For the most part shelters can and should be phased out. They are unjustified on principle, and they are a huge financial and energy drag on the movement to end violence against women.

Women should not have to abandon their homes and neighborhoods as the price of getting free of the violence. We highly recommend that establishing skilled, independent and aggressive advocacy centers, unconnected to shelters and unburdened by the costs of maintaining a shelter, are a low cost best practice for stopping the violence while keeping women safe in their homes.